The leaders of Pendle council have met the MP for Pendle and Clitheroe to highlight the financial pressures the local authority is facing.

Cllr Asjad Mahmood and Cllr David Whip invited Jonathan Hinder to discuss the services provided by the council and the issues affecting the area.

Councillor Mahmood said: “We are still under intense financial pressure so it’s important that we highlight the challenges we face to our new MP.

“Councils nationally have a budget shortfall year on year which makes it very difficult to provide residents and businesses with the services they want and deserve.

“We have a high number of properties (approximately 60%) which are in Band A which means we don’t collect as much council tax as in other areas.

“We are also facing financial pressure because of the escalating running costs of our leisure centres and pressures from temporary accommodation for homeless people.”

The council said other burdens on the budget include the introduction of a weekly food waste scheme for residents in 2026.

The borough is having to fund the cost of building a waste transfer station due to its Lancashire County Council contracts for waste disposal coming to an end in 2026.

Deputy Leader of Pendle Borough Council, Cllr David Whipp, added: “We want to see a change from the Government in the way that we are funded so that we can manage our budgets longer term.

“We’re also asking the Government to fully fund the cost of implementing and operating the food waste service – these are extra costs which currently have to be met by us.”

Cllr Mahmood said: “We raised the issue of the future of Nelson Long Term Town Plan and requested confirmation from the Government on what is happening with the funding.”